Lotte Chemical Defines Comprehensive Business Restructuring and Innovation Goals
2026-1-16
Faced with a severe market situation, Lee Young-jun, President of South Korea¡¯s Lotte Chemical Group, reaffirmed the commitment to reform and quality improvement, and clarified comprehensive business restructuring and innovation goals spanning capacity integration, cash flow control and R&D collaboration, aiming to enhance core competitiveness.
In November 2025, Lotte Chemical, together with Hyundai Oilbank and Hyundai Chemical, submitted a full-scale restructuring plan to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea. The core content is to physically split its 1.1 million-ton-per-annum naphtha cracking unit in Daesan, and integrate its operations with the 850,000-ton-per-annum ethylene cracking unit of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group at the same base, thereby optimizing the capacity layout of basic chemicals. Lee Young-jun emphasized the importance of stringent cash flow management during the transition period, stating that the company will continuously review existing businesses, focus on and expand high-competitiveness and high-potential segments, while drastically optimizing inefficient and non-differentiable businesses. The company plans to strengthen full-chain capital management, covering investment, financial supervision, raw material procurement, production and sales, customer service and logistics.
Looking ahead, Lotte Chemical will deepen industry-university-research and international cooperation, leverage its technological advantages in low-carbon energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, automotive mobility and biotechnology to foster functional materials businesses, and drive the transformation of its business portfolio. The goal is to increase the proportion of businesses including functional compounds, semiconductor process materials, green materials, functional copper foil, and environmental energy materials such as hydrogen energy and ammonia energy to over 60%. In addition, the company will restructure its medium- and long-term R&D roadmap, build a cooperation cluster involving universities, private enterprises and global scientific research institutions, and consolidate its differentiated competitive edge in the materials sector.
In November 2025, Lotte Chemical, together with Hyundai Oilbank and Hyundai Chemical, submitted a full-scale restructuring plan to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea. The core content is to physically split its 1.1 million-ton-per-annum naphtha cracking unit in Daesan, and integrate its operations with the 850,000-ton-per-annum ethylene cracking unit of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group at the same base, thereby optimizing the capacity layout of basic chemicals. Lee Young-jun emphasized the importance of stringent cash flow management during the transition period, stating that the company will continuously review existing businesses, focus on and expand high-competitiveness and high-potential segments, while drastically optimizing inefficient and non-differentiable businesses. The company plans to strengthen full-chain capital management, covering investment, financial supervision, raw material procurement, production and sales, customer service and logistics.
Looking ahead, Lotte Chemical will deepen industry-university-research and international cooperation, leverage its technological advantages in low-carbon energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, automotive mobility and biotechnology to foster functional materials businesses, and drive the transformation of its business portfolio. The goal is to increase the proportion of businesses including functional compounds, semiconductor process materials, green materials, functional copper foil, and environmental energy materials such as hydrogen energy and ammonia energy to over 60%. In addition, the company will restructure its medium- and long-term R&D roadmap, build a cooperation cluster involving universities, private enterprises and global scientific research institutions, and consolidate its differentiated competitive edge in the materials sector.